Playing To Win
by BlazeRabbit
Summary: Harry Harper recieves annonymous messages from a stranger and at the same time finds his colleagues to be in danger. COMPLETE.
1. Guppy

Night drew in around Bristol and the Holby General Hospital. The staff were changing from the day-shift to the night-shift nurses. In his office a middle-aged, brown-haired, weary man was trying to concentrate on the paperwork in front of him. He scribbled a sentence or two but then hastily drew a long line through the lot. He threw his pen down and sat back heavily in his chair, sighing deeply. Recent events meant that he had a lot of extra work to do around the hospital. A good friend and trusted employee of his had been sent home because of her health. Another employee had been sent away permanently because of accusations he had thrown around. The weary doctor's decision was one he stood by, but still regretted a little as the hospital was short-staffed as it was. Much as he disliked what he had been accused of, he now wished that they had an extra pair of hands on in the Emergency Department, even if they were Guppy Sandhu's. Now with two workers gone the work-load was increasing and putting a great strain on everyone, especially the boss.

Harry Harper stood and made his way across his office and opened the door. He turned and headed down the corridor. He heard the sound of an ambulance approaching. Soon enough he saw Luke Warren and Comfort Newton wheeling a patient towards him.

'What have we got here?' Harry asked, taking in the bloody features of the young girl.

'This is Cara, aged 13, hit and run. She's not KOed.' Comfort reeled off the information to the consultant.

'Right, Maggie. This one's yours. I would stay but unfortunately I have some important work to do.'

'OK, Harry. I'll take it from here.' Maggie Coldwell helped push the trolley down the corridor and around the corner.

Harry returned to his office and resumed the paperwork. He tried to concentrate but found his eyelids were too heavy. He closed his tired eyes, thinking to himself that he would only rest for five minutes and then carry on with the work. As soon as his eyes were shut however, he fell asleep, utterly exhausted.

He awoke to the sound of someone saying his name urgently and he felt his shoulder being shaken.

'Harry! Harry, wake up! We need you in Resus! Harry!'

'Huh? What? Abs! What's happened?'

John Denham (known as 'Abs') stood next to Harry's chair, white-faced and shaking. 'It's… it's Guppy.'

'Guppy? What's wrong?' Harry stood up and placed a hand on Abs' shoulder and looked him in the face, studying the pale and sweaty nurse standing in front of him.

'He's been attacked… stabbed… it's serious, Harry.'

'Let's get to him, then. How long ago was this?'

'He was found about ten minutes ago in the lift. Maggie's treating him, but she said she really needs your help.' Abs answered as he and Harry ran towards Resus.

'Is he unconscious?' Harry asked.

'No, he's awake and talking. He's in a lot of pain. I hate seeing him like this. He's always so… well, you know him too, Harry.'

'Yes.' Harry pushed the door open and rushed to where Guppy lay on a trolley surrounded by various staff members. 'Maggie, Abs told me what happened. How's Guppy doing?'

'As well as can be expected, I think, but he's still in a lot of pain and he's terrified.'

Harry moved so that he was as close as he could be to his wounded employee. He placed a hand on Guppy's shoulder and squeezed it gently. He bent close to Guppy so that the scared young man could hear him and he whispered, 'Guppy, it's Harry. Don't be afraid… you're safe with me.'

Guppy spoke slowly and quietly. His words were barely audible through the oxygen mask he wore. He said, 'Harry…' and then slipped into unconsciousness.

'He's out cold,' Harry said loudly so that the assembled team could hear him. 'Maggie, Charlie, Abs, let's get moving!'

Charlie peeled a bloody dressing from a wound on Guppy's abdomen. Harry inspected the hole carefully. It looked familiar to him. He redressed the wound and straightened up.

After what seemed an age, Guppy was wheeled away to theatre. Harry stood with Abs in Resus. He had a blood-stain on his sleeve. This, too, was familiar. After a moment of silence he turned to Abs and spoke.

'First Selena… now Guppy…' he said, thinking out loud.

'What?' Abs looked bemused, 'Do you think these attacks are connected?'

'No, I don't.' Harry said. 'I'm sure this stabbing wasn't directed at Guppy. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

'I hope he's all right…' Abs mused.

'Of course you do. And so do I. So do I.' Harry gave Abs a reassuring pat on the back and walked out of the large Resuscitation room. Abs followed shortly and turned the corner.

Harry returned to his office and sat down. He was about to write up the notes on Guppy's attack when he saw a scrap of paper on his desk that hadn't been there before. He picked it up and read its scrawled message:

_This is the first, but it won't be the last._


	2. Luke

Harry looked and looked at the words on the paper. What did it mean? Harry was smart and thought he had a good idea of who sent him the letter. He didn't know _who_ it was exactly, but he thought he knew the person. Guppy's attacker? Could it be the person who stabbed the young Guppy Sandhu?

Harry looked up from the letter and was surprised to see that an hour had passed. It had now been three hours since he had helped Guppy in Resus. He stood up and made his way to reception. However, he need not have gone so far because Charlie Fairhead ran up behind him.

'Harry!'

'Charlie, any news on Guppy?'

'Yes. He's doing fine, I'm glad to say.'

'Where is he?'

Charlie gave the directions to the Harry and carried on up the corridor. Harry turned and headed for the lift. He pressed a button and stepped inside. As he stepped out on his desired floor, he paused. He decided against what he had been thinking and went to Guppy's room. He knocked softly and opened the door as slowly and quietly as he could.

Guppy lay on the bed, his eyes shut and his face pale. His hair, which was normally bushy and springy, now drooped in flat layers. Harry was slightly startled to see him like that. He had always known Guppy to be lively and active. He approached the bed and stood, smiling slightly in the friendly way he was known to have when his friends were suffering. He waited to see if Guppy had noticed him.

'…Harry…?'

'Yes,' Harry whispered, 'it's me. How are you feeling?'

'Awful… I'm not as bad as I was, but… I'm still… you know…'

'Scared?'

'Yeah.'

'Well, there's no need to be scared now, my friend. You're in safe hands here.' Harry paused and then added, 'Guppy, why _are_ you here? I thought I sent you home. And your name's not down for the night-shift.'

Guppy winced, not so much with the pain in his abdomen, but with the embarrassment he had felt earlier when he had accused his boss of being involved in a drugs trial. He looked up at Harry and said quietly, 'I came to apologise for… for thinking that you were involved in the…'

'Don't say anymore, Guppy. Just concentrate on recovering, there's a good chap.'

Guppy smiled at Harry weakly. Harry patted Guppy's shoulder gently and said, 'Now, get some rest. I'll come and see you again later.'

Harry left the quiet, dark room and returned once again to his office. He worked for a further two hours and then stopped to rest his eyes. He was determined not to fall asleep again in case he was needed urgently. He decided to get a breath of fresh air. He stood up and made his way down the corridor towards reception. He entered the brightly lit room and walked through the entrance doors. He breathed in deeply and exhaled the cold night air. As he was about to return to the hospital, he heard a sudden commotion behind one of the parked ambulances that stood outside the building. He ran towards the sound.

A terrible sight met his eyes. He saw Luke Warren the paramedic lying on the floor, blood staining the green uniform he wore. Harry noticed a shadowy figure running away into the distance. If there had been anyone else to help Luke at the time, Harry would have tried to get a better look at the assailant. Instead he crouched down next to the stricken worker.

'Luke! Luke, can you hear me? Luke!' He looked up from the bleeding man and let forth a loud bellow of, 'HELP! I NEED HELP!'

A moment later, he was joined by Tess Batemen and Charlie. Looking shocked, Tess ran back to the hospital to get more nurses. They soon came running with a trolley. With some difficulty, Harry, Charlie and the rest managed to get their friend onto the trolley. They wheeled him into reception and straight through to Resus. Claire Guildford, who, against her better judgement, had decided to take the night-shift, stared at the man on the trolley. The young nurse ran after the group heading to Resus and tried to get close to Luke.

'Luke! LUKE!' she screamed. Charlie took her by the shoulders and led her to the relatives' room to calm down. She screamed at him to let her go with Luke but he stuck to his guns and didn't let go.

'Claire, calm down, darling. Harry will see to Luke. Sit down, sweetheart.'

Claire sank into the chair and Charlie put his arms around her. She lent her head against his shoulder and started to sob uncontrollably while Charlie hugged her gently, speaking to her in a soothing voice.

'It's OK,' he said quietly, 'It's all right.'

Claire still sobbed into Charlie's shoulder. She couldn't stop. She had been avoiding Luke because of the shocking discovery she had made earlier that day. Her brother had recently died and Claire had found a videotape that showed how he had come to have his fatal fall. Luke had lied to her to protect his ex-wife, Bex Reynolds. Now all Claire could think of was Luke dying too.

'He's going to die, isn't he Charlie?' She said, tears pouring like rain from her eyes.

'Shh… don't think things like that, darling. They're doing everything they can in there. You know they are. Come here.' And he pulled her closer to him, comforting her.

In Resus, Harry, Abs and Tess were treating Luke's wound. It was a stab-wound; the very kind that Guppy had received only a few hours before. Harry dressed the wound and gave Luke oxygen to help him breathe.

'Come on, Luke.' He murmured as he worked. 'Don't give up.'

Luke's eyes were wide with fright and his face was pale and sweaty, just like Guppy's had been. Harry and Abs finished up working on him and Tess and three other nurses wheeled him away to theatre. Harry peeled the gloves off his hands and discarded them. He turned to Abs, like he had done before.

'This can't be a coincidence.' He said quietly.

'No,' Abs replied, 'No, it can't. Do you think it was the same person or what?'

'How can anyone know that, Abs? Guppy was caught by surprise and he can't remember anything now anyway… and Luke didn't make a sound until it had happened. Nobody knows what's going on.' Harry said sternly and then, seeing Abs' face, he added, 'I'm not angry at you, Abs. I'm sorry I was snappy. I'm just worried. Two of my employees attacked in the same night.'

Harry returned to his office as he had to write up another report because of Luke's stabbing. He sat down, drew a piece of paper towards him and bent his head, ready to begin. It was then he saw the writing. He read it, and his eyes widened. He gasped.

_Two now… you're getting careless._


	3. Charlie

The next morning was just as hectic as the last. Harry had to deal with a large number of patients now that Guppy was out of action. He knew that he had meant for him to be gone forever, but in light of what had happened the previous night, not only the attack, but also the plain fact that Guppy was as sorry as he could be, if not more, Harry could not find it in his heart to stand by his decision any longer. Guppy was a great asset to Holby and he had a bedside manner that Harry admired despite his stern exterior.

Harry was exhausted by the time he had dealt with his fourth Resus patient. It had been a particularly taxing job and he felt the strain. He was relieved when Maggie came in to cover for him, knowing that he had been working non-stop through the night before.

'I appreciate it, Maggie,' he said, as he picked up his things, ready to leave for home, 'but promise me you'll call me if you need any help.' He walked out of the door with Maggie following. He turned back to her and said, 'And keep me posted on Guppy and Luke.'

'Will do, Harry.' Maggie replied.

'Thanks.'

Harry climbed into his car and put his key in the ignition. As he turned it, he noticed that there was a small post-it note stuck to the outside of his windscreen. He opened his window and reached around for the note and read it:

_Three hours…_

Harry looked at his watch. It was 12:30pm. Something told him that he should stay at Holby General and keep an eye on things, but something else told him that he would be of no use if he was half-asleep while trying to save lives. That could be a huge risk to both his career and his patient's life. He turned the key and drove out of the car park.

When he reached home, he went straight to his kitchen and made a cup of tea. He drained the mug and then went upstairs to greet his children, who were home for the summer holidays. He met Jordan first.

'Hi,' he said, 'Everything all right?'

'Yeah,' Jordan paused, studying his father's face, 'Are you OK, Dad?'

'Me? No, not really. Two of my colleagues have been taken ill.'

'Why? What's wrong with them?'

'Nothing that concerns you, Jordan,' Harry answered firmly, 'I'll worry about them. You just go and do whatever you were doing.'

Jordan went downstairs and Harry continued on his way to find his other children. After talking with all of them he went to his bedroom for a lie down. He felt tired enough to sleep for a week, but he knew that he had to keep an ear out for a call from Maggie.

He opened his eyes when he heard the sound of his telephone ringing. He looked blearily at his bedside clock. It showed that the time was 15:36pm. Harry jumped up and ran to the phone. He picked it up.

'Hello; Harry Harper speaking.'

'Harry! We need your help!'

'Maggie? What's wrong?' Harry was alarmed.

'It's Charlie… just come quickly, please, Harry!'

Harry felt a horrible sinking feeling inside him as he pulled his suit on and ran down the stairs, grabbing the keys from a table as he got to the bottom. Jordan came out of the living room as Harry had disturbed him when he crashed down the stairs in his hurry.

'What's going on?'

'Something's come up. I have to go into work.' Harry said hurriedly. 'Look after the others for me.'

Jordan agreed. There was little else he could do. Harry jumped into his car and drove to the hospital as quickly as he could.

The hospital was full of people waiting to be treated, but Harry pushed his way forward and got to the receptionist behind the desk.

'Where's Charlie?' he demanded.

'He's in Resus.' The young receptionist answered, ashen-faced.

'Resus?' Harry ran towards the familiar room and pushed open the doors to find Maggie, Abs and Tess standing around a trolley, on which lay Charlie Fairhead.

'Stab-wound?' Harry asked quietly.

'Yeah, same as the others.' Abs said, looking ill.

Harry said nothing else except, 'Hang on in there.' which was directed at the wounded nurse on the trolley. The consultant worked quickly and efficiently, as he had done before. Soon Charlie was prepped for theatre. Once again, Harry was left with Abs in Resus.

'This needs investigating.' said Harry, his face pale.

'Yes…' Abs replied. 'Harry… any of us could be next.'

Harry turned swiftly towards Abs at this shocking remark. Harry realised with horror that it was entirely true. He tried to comfort Abs.

'Nobody else is going to end up like this, Abs. I promise you.' He said, looking Abs straight in the eye. 'Nobody.'

Abs left to get a cup of coffee and offered Harry one. Harry refused and went to visit Luke. The paramedic lay still in the bed and didn't look up when Harry came in.

'Luke?' Harry moved towards the bed. 'Luke, it's me, Harry.'

There was no reply. Harry knew that Luke was awake. He tried again.

'Luke… come on, it's all right. You're safe now.'

Still Luke didn't answer. The sorry sight nearly brought tears to Harry's eyes. He blinked them away and sat on the chair next to Luke's bed. He placed a tentative hand on Luke's shoulder. Luke still didn't move. He didn't even blink much. He just lay, staring at the ceiling, his hair lank and greasy, his eyes dull and his face white. Harry squeezed his shoulder and bent close to him.

'You'll be all right. I know you will.'

'Really? And what about everyone else? Will they be all right, Harry?'

'Of course they will, Luke. I'd never let anything happen to them.'

'Harry, that's just it. You can't do anything. Not really. Sure you can save us, it's your job to save lives and by hell you're great at it but, but it doesn't stop more people from being attacked. I know what happened to Charlie. Claire was up here earlier crying her eyes out about it. Three members of staff in less than twenty-four hours… there'll be another attack soon… mark my words…' He winced. After this long outburst he felt weaker than ever and he shut his eyes.

Harry stood up and headed for the door. He turned to Luke and said, 'Get some rest, Luke. God knows you need it.' And with that, he left.

He headed towards his office. He knew he would find a message there and, sure enough, there it was, lying on his desk. A piece of torn paper which had been scribbled on, somewhat hastily, it seemed to Harry. It read:

_So… it seems I'm winning the game._


	4. Selena

Harry picked up the phone and called the police.

'Send someone over now! It's serious! We've had three members of staff stabbed in less than twenty-four hours. And I've been receiving anonymous messages that seem to be from the culprit.'

Half an hour later there were police officers swarming all over the hospital. One of these police officers was Will Manning, a man that Harry was less than happy to see. Harry led him into his office and offered him a seat. He knew that he would have to try and tolerate Will the best he could.

'Why didn't you phone me before, Harry?'

'There was no need to. It was just Dr Sandhu. A one-off, we suspected.'

'But, after that? You should have called the police.'

'Yes, OK, we should have called the police. Can we just get this sorted before anything else untoward happens?' then Harry added through gritted teeth, 'Please.'

Will stood up and walked out of the room. Harry followed and was about to go the same way as Will, but then spotted an employee he didn't expect to see. He checked that Will hadn't noticed. He hadn't. Harry slipped up the corridor and caught up with his worker.

'Selena, what are you doing here?'

'What does it look like; I'm working.'

'You should be resting.'

'Will you stop worrying, Harry? It's getting on my nerves.'

'I'm sorry, Selena,' Harry said, hurt, 'I was only thinking of your health.'

'Well, don't. I'm a doctor, too, Harry. I don't need you telling me if I'm healthy or not.'

'I'm your boss and I say that you _shouldn't_ be here.'

'You're a pain, Harry! You're a bloody pain!' Selena walked off up the corridor.

If it had been anyone else who had spoken to him like that, he would have called them back and reprimanded them severely. However, he didn't wish to cause Selena any more stress. He just hoped she would take it easy.

He sloped off, half annoyed and half worried. It wasn't a very nice feeling, and Will Manning going on at him about not contacting him sooner wasn't helping his mood at all. He found himself almost losing his temper with the police officer at more than one occasion, but managed to hold the anger back as he knew very well that it wouldn't help matters. He needed to cool off. He turned and headed for the car park.

He pushed open the door and the fresh air made him feel a little better. He tried desperately to think of how the attacker could get into the building, commit the crime and also find time to leave a note behind. He was pondering this when he heard a shout from his left. He turned to see Woody, the paramedic, running towards him. He had blood on his green uniform, Harry noticed.

'Woody!' Harry sprinted towards him and grabbed his shoulders, 'Are you all right? What's happened? Are you hurt?'

'It's… it's Selena.'

'Selena?' Harry was shocked out of all self-possession. He hurtled after Woody, 'SELENA!'

Selena lay, stricken, on the ground. Blood was seeping through her pale clothes. Harry ran to her and knelt down beside her, taking her hand in his.

'Selena… you're going to be all right. Can you hear me? It's all right.'

'…Harry… you're… you're not… a bloody pain…'

'Shh… it's OK, I don't care what you think of me at the moment. Just stay still.'

Woody had run to the building to get help and now Tess, Abs and several off nurses ran towards the couple on the ground.

'Bloody hell! Another one?' Abs gasped as he helped get Selena onto a trolley.

'So it seems…' Harry mumbled, still holding Selena's hand.

They wheeled her into Resus and Harry pulled on some disposable gloves. He began to dress the wound while Abs gave Selena the oxygen she so desperately needed. Harry worked, as ever, quickly and capably, but Selena was weak from her previous attack. She was slipping in and out of consciousness and her vision was blurring. One moment Harry would be right in front of her, the next, he was behind a misty cloud. He began to grow darker and darker, and he moved further and further away. His words of comfort and reassurance got fainter and fainter. Even as he began to shout her name over and over again, she could hardly hear him. She thought she heard the words, 'I love you…', but she was no longer in control of her thoughts. Her vision was completely gone and she heard no more.

'Selena! Her BP's dropped! Start CPR!'

Abs ran to Selena's side and started doing chest compressions. Harry manned the oxygen, squeezing the gas into Selena's nose and mouth at regular intervals.

'Stop; pulse check.' He said.

Abs ceased and Harry placed two fingers gently on the spot beneath Selena's chin. He felt for a pulse; nothing; not a single heartbeat.

'Carry on!' He commanded.

Abs resumed the compressions and Harry continued giving oxygen. Another cycle of CPR was carried out.

'Pulse check.'

Nothing.

'Continue!'

Another cycle.

'Pulse check.'

Still nothing.

'Resume!'

A fourth cycle.

'Pulse check.'

Not a trace of a pulse.

'Again!'

A fifth cycle.

Harry swallowed, 'Pulse check…' his voice was shaky and he could hardly get the words out. He placed his fingers on Selena's neck and felt. He hoped, wished and prayed that he would feel something – anything – that would indicate Selena was still with him. There was nothing. There was nothing at all. He was about to call for another cycle when the sound of the monitor at his side cut through his thoughts. It had been crying its monotonous cry all through the CPR and it still wailed now. Harry looked around at the faces of his fellow team-members. They were all looking back at him, waiting for his instruction. They were waiting for him to come to a decision. He had to decide whether Selena had another chance. He had to let her go.

'We've… we've completed five cycles. I think… I think we should… stop.' He stammered, 'Does everyone agree?' He secretly hoped that someone would disagree with him. He didn't want to be the one to choose death.

'I… I think Harry's right.' Abs' voice was quiet and he looked pale. He looked up at Harry and they exchanged a look of silent, unwanted, agreement.

'I agree.' Tess said.

There were nods of agreement from all assembled. Harry sighed deeply. He unhooked the oxygen pump from Selena's face and then looked at his watch.

'Resus abandoned at 6:53pm… good effort everybody; a really good effort. I'm proud of you all… and… and Selena would have been too.'

'I'm sorry, Harry.' Tess sympathised.

'So are we.' Abs whispered, indicating the team.

'I'd… I'd like to be alone with her please.' Harry said, quietly, trying and failing to keep the emotion out of his voice.

'Of course, Harry.' Tess said.

The nurses left Resus and went to their separate locations. Harry stood beside Selena and he allowed the tears to fall freely from his eyes.

'I love you… I hope you know that. I really love you…' he bent down and kissed Selena's pale, clammy forehead gently. His tears dripped onto her skin. He sank to his knees and buried his head in his hands, not keeping anything back. He sobbed bitterly. His tears stung his eyes; his face was red and damp. He was completely inconsolable. He knelt on the floor of Resus, Selena's blood on his hands and he wept. A scrunched up piece of paper flew through the window and hit the back of his head. He took his hands away from his face, leaving bloody fingerprints across his cheeks, and read the note.

_Looks like she had two bloody pains to cope with in the end._


	5. Abs

Harry stood up and drew in a deep breath.

'NO!' he yelled, 'NO, NO NO!'

Abs re-entered Resus and moved tentatively towards his boss.

'Harry?'

'Sorry, Abs, I didn't mean to shout… it's just…'

'I know, mate. It'll be all right.' He stopped when he saw Harry's expression. 'Maybe not right away… but… well, it will be all right, Harry, believe me.'

'Yes…' Harry left Resus and went to his office. He sat at his desk and felt more tears threatening to spill. He wiped his eyes and saw another note. He picked up the paper and read it, not wanting to know what it said, but somehow feeling drawn to it.

_My next victim will go through ABSolute torture._

'Absolute… Abs!'

Harry jumped up and dashed out of his office, the note in his hand. He looked frantically for Abs. He ran to reception.

'Where's Abs?'

'He was in cubicles a moment ago… listen, Harry, I'm –'

'Sorry, I haven't got time to talk.' Harry said as he rushed to the cubicles where the patients stayed. He searched for Abs in every cubicle. Then he saw him at the end of the room.

'Abs!' Harry called, not loudly, but loud enough to be heard.

'Harry? Are you all right?' Abs turned and was just about to join Harry when suddenly a figure dressed entirely in black jumped at him and grabbed him.

'ABS!' Harry ran at the figure and tried to free Abs.

The figure, who was unrecognisable because of his black attire and the balaclava he wore, lashed out at Harry. Harry tried to dodge but felt the man's fist hit him in the chest. He fell backwards with the impact, wheezing. He recovered quickly and tried to help Abs escape the man's clutches again, but failed. The masked assailant dragged Abs away down the corridor. Harry ran after them. A second later he felt a sharp blow to his head and felt himself falling.

'…Harry… Harry…'

Harry opened his eyes slowly. He lay in a hospital bed, an oxygen mask around his face. He looked up at Maggie, who was standing over him.

'Maggie?' He whispered, 'What happened?'

'You were knocked out.'

'How?'

'Will Manning.'

'What? Will?' Harry was confused.

'Yes… it seems that he was the one who was behind the attacks… did you… did you know anything about this?'

'I… I'm not sure… I…' he winced, 'I can't think straight.'

'That'll be the concussion. It was a big risk you took Harry.' Maggie paused and then smiled, 'I've got to hand it to you though. You saved Abs from being stabbed.'

'I did? Is he all right? What happened, Maggie?'

'Will's accomplice dragged Abs away and then the rest of the police squad caught them. It was all the commotion you caused when you ran at him… oh, and the cries from Abs and the patients.'

Harry shut his eyes, relieved that the culprit had been caught.

'Harry?' Maggie said.

'Yes?'

'Where did this note come from?'

'Note?' Harry suddenly woke up properly. 'The notes!'

'Harry? Notes? What are you talking about?'

'The attacker… Will or this other person, I suppose it was… left them in my office and in places where I was. They all said things about the stabbings. I don't know why he made it so obvious about who he was going for next.'

'Well, that's for the police to find out. Get some rest, Harry.'

'Yes, I think I will, Maggie. Thank you.' Harry smiled at his employee, who was now his doctor, but once she was out of sight, Harry lay awake, staring at the ceiling. He though of Selena and his heart ached. He felt so empty. This was a nightmare.

'If only it was.' He muttered to himself.

He must have slept in the end for when he opened his eyes he found that it was the next day. He sat up and blinked. His head throbbed and he had a horrible taste in his mouth. He felt sick. He lay down again and sighed. He saw a tall figure, dressed in blue, walking towards him.

'Hello, Harry. How are you feeling today?' Abs asked.

'I feel awful, Abs; how about you?'

'Thankful.'

'Thankful?'

'Harry, you saved my life.'

'No, I didn't.'

'You did, don't argue.'

'OK, Abs. I won't.'

'You can go home if you want. I'll call you a taxi.'

'You can call him a taxi if you want, but I think he'd rather be called Harry.' Kelsie, the young nurse who had just started working at Holby walked past.

'Oh, very funny.' Abs sighed.

Harry forced a little smile. 'OK, Abs. I'll go home.'

As soon as Harry arrived at home he went to bed. He slept for many hours. He dreamt of the moment he had lost Selena. He woke, sweating and gasping. He looked down at the quilt and saw that a piece of paper had been put on his bed. He picked it up, his hands shaking.

_Time to go, Harry._


	6. Harry

Harry recovered from his head-wound quickly and was back at work in three days. The note he had found was in his pocket. He fingered it warily throughout the day. Will had been taken away by the police, but what about the person doing the stabbing? Where was he? Harry didn't know. He was hauled away from his thoughts by the sound of his pager.

He opened his office door and headed for Resus. He spent the next twenty minutes or so dealing with the patient. When, at last, the wounded boy was wheeled away, Harry returned to the sanctuary of his office to ponder over the ominous message. How did it get in his house? Then a terrifying thought occurred to him: his children. What if they were in danger? Harry leapt up and grabbed the phone and dialled his home number.

'Hello?'

'Ollie, are you all right?' Harry tried to sound as calm as possible.

'Yeah, Dad, everyone's fine. How are you?'

'Oh, I'm good. I'm just checking up on you. Well, I've got to go. Phone me if there's any trouble.'

'OK, Dad. Bye.'

'Bye, Ollie.'

Harry hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. His children were safe. Suddenly, his mobile began to ring, making him jump violently. He grabbed the phone and answered the call.

'Harry Harper.'

Silence.

'Hello?'

No answer.

Harry glanced at the screen of his phone. The number displayed was his home phone number.

'Ollie? Is that you? Who's there?'

A scream was heard from Harry's home.

'What's happened?' Harry demanded, scared and concerned.

More silence. Harry ran out his office and then out of the building. He jumped into his car and drove towards his house. When he was in sight of his home, another car came round the corner and slammed into his. He felt a sharp pain in his neck as his head was jerked backwards with the impact.

'DAD!' Jordan and Ollie came running out of the house.

Harry climbed out of his car to assess the damage. He ran to his boys and gave them a hug.

'Are you all right?' he asked.

'Yes… are you?' Jordan looked worriedly at his father.

'It's just a pulled muscle; nothing to worry about.' Harry paused, looking at the driver of the other car. It was the man who had tried to attack Abs. He was still dressed in his black clothes. Harry moved towards the wrecked cars and peered in through the window of the car that had hit his. The man was unharmed.

'Harper…'

'Yes, that's me.' Harry said, dialling 999 behind his back.

The man in the car spotted the phone and raised his hand. It had a knife in it. Jordan and Ollie gasped. Harry looked worriedly at the implement that had caused so much pain for his friends.

'If you call the police, then you – and your children –,' he gestured towards the frightened boys, 'will die.'

'No! No, you can't hurt my boys. What have they done to you? What have they done to Will?'

'Nothing… but it'll stop them gabbing about your death to the police if they die too.' Then without warning the car door swung open and Harry was knocked off his feet. The stabber jumped out and pinned Harry to the ground. He lifted the knife and brought it down hard.

Jordan and Ollie screamed at the man attacking their father. The man glowered at them and threw the knife in their direction. It cut Jordan's wrist and blood spilt onto the teenager's sleeve.

'Jordan!' Harry called his son's name, not being able to keep the panic out of his voice.

'Shut up!' the black-clothed man produced another blade from his pocket and holding it centimetres from Harry's throat.

Suddenly, a police car hurtled round the corner and skidded to a halt beside Harry and his attacker. An officer jumped out and other squad members grabbed the man and dragged him off Harry. Harry let out a sigh of relief and stood up.

'Let me see that.' He said as he took Jordan's hand in his own. 'We need to get you to hospital. You're white as a sheet.'

Jordan nodded and then passed out, falling into his father's arms.

'Ollie, grab my phone and call an ambulance, quickly.'

'I've already done that, Dad; when that man knocked you down. I thought he was going to hurt you.'

'So did I. Well done, Ollie. I'm proud of you.' Harry beamed at his young son.

Within two minutes of Jordan's fainting, an ambulance arrived. Harry was pleased to see that it was a Holby vehicle. Woody and Comfort jumped out and ran to where their boss stood.

'Harry? What happened? Are you all right?' Woody asked.

'It's Jordan. He's lost a lot of blood. And Ollie's in shock. If you take Jordan, I'll take care of Ollie.'

'OK, Harry. Let's get him in the ambulance.' Comfort said, as she and Woody strapped the unconscious Jordan onto a stretcher. They got Jordan into the ambulance and Harry and Ollie climbed in after him. Woody stayed in the back with them while Comfort got back into the driver's seat and pulled away from the house.

Harry treated Ollie as Woody tried to stem the bleeding from Jordan's wrist. Harry was in shock too, but his worry for his sons had slowed the affects. As they arrived at Holby General, Harry felt himself become shaky and sweaty. Woody handed him a blanket and Harry wrapped it around himself gratefully. He held Ollie close as they walked into the hospital.

'What the hell happened to you?' Abs said, running up to Harry.

'I'll tell you later, Abs. Right now, Ollie and Jordan need you.'

'And you too, Harry.' Maggie said, as she took hold of the trolley that Jordan lay on. 'I'll treat Jordan while Abs takes you and Ollie to cubicles.'

'Thank you, Maggie.' Harry smiled thankfully at the registrar.

'No problem, Harry.' She smiled back at her shaken boss.

Abs escorted Harry and Ollie to cubicles so that could be treated for shock. He worked quickly and within a few minutes both the Harpers were feeling a little better, though still desperately worried about Jordan.

'He'll be fine, Harry.' Abs said, although he didn't know whether he was telling the truth or not. It seemed to be the only thing he could think of. Harry had been through too much recently and Abs didn't want to add to it.

'Yes, he's fighter. I'll go and check on him later.' Harry replied. Ollie was asleep, his head resting on his father's shoulder. Harry smiled down at him. 'Good old Ollie. He's the one who phoned for the paramedics.'

'So… what happened at your place Harry?'

Harry recounted the tale to Abs. Abs listened to every word, wanting to know how the Will Manning saga had ended.

Maggie came in then and told Harry that Jordan was awake and asking for his dad. Harry thanked her and stood up, leaving Ollie lying on the bed, exhausted.

'What's going to happen now, then?' Abs said, as the two Holby staff walked up the corridor.

'I don't know what's happened to Will or his partner in crime, and to tell you the truth, I couldn't care less. It's the police's job to know that.' He pushed the door open and they walked through it. He continued, 'We've got our job to do, Abs. As long as we keep getting patients to treat, we'll keep treating them. We can't really do anything else, can we?'

As Harry pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket a small, tatty scrap of paper fell to the floor. Neither Harry nor Abs noticed it. It landed face-up on the floor. No-one was around to read the message written on it in very neat handwriting.

_I won the game, didn't I?_

THE END


End file.
